Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Multiracial Exercise?

Once again, we wonder how many of these white and black girls are actually multiracial. Excluded from studies one more time.

Benefits of Exercise Show
Racial Differences

By Hannah
Sacks

While exercise may be
beneficial in combating obesity in adolescents, a new study suggests physical
activity may be less successful in preventing obesity in black girls than in
their white counterparts.

The study,
published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine,
examines the levels of physical activity and obesity of more than 1,100 girls at
ages 12 and 14. The racial split was 538 black girls and 610 white ones.

Measurements of obesity include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
definitions of obesity, the International Obesity Task Force body mass index cut
points, and the sums of skin-fold thickness. The study also compares
participants' physical activity and food intake, reports
the Los Angeles Times.

Based on the girls' level of physical activity, they were divided into lower
and upper halves within their respective racial categories. Twelve-year-old
white girls in the upper half were 85 percent less likely to become obese at age
14 than their white peers in the bottom half. However, black girls in the top
half were only 15 percent less likely to be obese two years later than black
girls in the lower half, reports the Times.

The study concludes by suggesting that obesity preventions aimed at black
girls may need to be adapted to account for their decreased sensitivity to the
effects of physical activity.
Authors James White of Cardiff University and Russell Jago of the University
of Bristol write that their results "suggest that prompting adolescent girls to
be active may be important to prevent obesity but that using different
approaches ... may be necessary to prevent obesity in black girls."
Source: Education Week